AC Milan risk exclusion from European competition if they fail to break even by 2021, says UEFA

Paris: AC Milan risk being excluded from European competition in the coming seasons if the club fails to "break even" after falling foul of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, UEFA announced Friday.

Representational image. Reuters

The Serie A giants are one of several clubs to have been investigated for breaching UEFA's rules — which state clubs can not spend more than they generate by their own means.

After winning an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) earlier this year, following a UEFA ban from the Europa League due to breaching FFP regulations, Milan crashed out of the competition on Thursday after a 3-1 defeat at Olympiakos.

UEFA said Friday the former seven-time European champions again face suspension from continental competition in future seasons "should the club not be break-even compliant at 30 June 2021".

A UEFA statement added: "Accordingly, should the club not be break-even compliant at 30 June 2021, it will be excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify, in the two seasons 2022/23 and 2023/24.

"The club will also have 12m euros of its UEFA revenues from the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League withheld and will not be permitted to register more than 21 players for participation in UEFA competitions in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons," said the statement.

UEFA said Milan had the right to appeal both decisions "to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in accordance with .... rules governing the UEFA Club Financial Control Body".